


The Recon Job

by assassinkat16



Series: Crimson Days Writing Challenge 2021 [1]
Category: Destiny (Video Games)
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, Crimson Days (Destiny), Developing Friendships, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-23
Updated: 2021-02-23
Packaged: 2021-03-14 00:26:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,776
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29659611
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/assassinkat16/pseuds/assassinkat16
Summary: PROMPT: Write about a time when someone else had your character's back.INCLUDE A PERSON: an admirerINCLUDE A PLACE: a nestINCLUDE A THING: something borrowed
Series: Crimson Days Writing Challenge 2021 [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2179542
Comments: 1
Kudos: 2





	The Recon Job

It was dark in this place. It smelled of moss and mildew with an undercurrent of something far fouler at the edges. The echo of trickling water filled the unnatural tunnel with its white noise. The only other sound was the soft footsteps of the Guardian’s boots as they tread over the steep terrain. The Ghost’s light flickered just beyond the Hunter’s shoulder.

“You always bring me to the nicest places, don’t you?”

The Hunter cast a backwards glance at the Ghost. Her helmet revealed nothing, but her partner could tell she was rolling her eyes. “Stop complaining, Marshal. At least you can’t smell it.” 

“Small consolation,” he quipped back, “as I can still see perfectly.” If Marshal had a nose to turn up, he would have. Instead, his shell spun mechanically with his apparent disapproval. “I don’t understand why you insisted on running this job solo in the first place,” he continued. “We should have waited for Zavala to assign us to a fireteam—”

“I don’t need a fireteam,” the Hunter cut in.

“This mission hasn’t even been approved by the Vanguard yet,” Marshal scolded. “There are too many variables. Too many risks. If you and Osiris would wait until—"

“We need to know now, not two weeks after bureaucratic nonsense. It’s a simple recon job. In and out, yeah? Besides,” she said, turning to her Ghost with a grin, “I want to get paid.”

“Paid?”

“Spicy ramen and gyoza ain’t cheap, you know.”

“What happened to the glimmer from last week’s job?” Marshal asked in growing concern. When she didn’t answer, he circled in front of her, cutting her off. “Tae–?” There was an accusation in the way he drew out the single syllable of her name.

Tae shrugged her shoulder. “The ship needed repairs.”

“Repairs?! The ship wasn’t in _that_ bad of shape.”

“Not that bad of—?” She halted in her tracks, turning to face him with a hand on her hip. “The ship barely made it back through the atmosphere last time and it limped into the hanger!”

“I can’t say I’m truly surprised, the way you pilot it on manual.” He fixed his gaze on her. “But it wouldn’t cost everything we made from the job to fix it, either. So how much is left?”

“Well…” Tae’s indignation faltered. She rubbed the back of her neck sheepishly. “If you add in the cost of the upgrade I bought from Banshee and the cost to attach that mod to the new pulse rifle… Nothing?”

“Nothing?!” His synthesized voice was loud enough to reverberate off the tunnel walls. He shot above her head, the lights on his shell flashing several different colors in the span of a second. “How is there nothing left?! We had over 80,000 glimmer in the—” He cut himself off with a sudden realization. “You bet on the Crucible matches again, didn’t you?”

“Hey, it was a sure thing! I saw the Guardian teams myself and—”

“You ALWAYS say it’s a sure thing!” He let out a long-suffering sigh and fell to muttering. “I can’t believe you would risk our hard-earned glimmer—”

“It was a good bet,” Tae protested. “Of course, that Guardian seemed a little _too_ happy about my bet, now that I think about it…”

“Did you have to bet _all_ the glimmer we had?! We needed it for other things!"

She tilted her head innocently. “Like what?”

“My shell?!” He hovered inches from her face, exposing a bullet sized hole near the back of his shell, as well as several dents and scratches. “It’s practically falling apart! You said you’d buy a replacement for me! A really nice one!”

“I will!” Tae cajoled, reaching up to gently pull the upset Ghost back to her level. “As soon as we finish _this_ job.” She patted Marshal’s shell affectionately while he grumbled something in another language she didn’t understand. “You know I’m good for it!”

Marshal rolled his viewport towards the ceiling and released a sigh of exasperation. Satisfied that she had won the argument, Tae readjusted her grip on her weapon and pushed forward. She only took two steps before the ground opened up to swallow her.

“Tae!”

Marshal’s shout echoed after her as she fell into the black. For a moment of blind panic, she didn’t hear or see anything. At the last second, she saw the ground, an eerie green hue reflecting from her Ghost’s light high above. She jumped to slow her descent just enough to hit the ground in a tucked roll. She landed hard, staggering forward from the momentum as she fought to gain her feet.

“Shit!”

“Tae-Eun!” Marshal’s voice echoed from above her.

Tae groaned, dusting herself off. “I’m alright.” She looked up towards where she had fallen from, but it was so far up that Marshal’s light was a pinhole in the darkness. “Shit.”

Her Ghost suddenly transmat next to her, the shimmering light briefly blinding. “Tae!” He pulsed with light and Tae took a deep breath as it surrounded her, the pain of her twisted ankle disappearing in an instant. “Are you alright?”

“Could be better,” she muttered.

He released another pulse of light. “Just in case,” he replied to her silent look.

The gun had been flung several feet from her when she had landed. Marshal obligingly turned his light to show her the slimy puddle it had fallen in. Tae picked up the hand cannon from where it had landed, brushing the filth from it counterproductively. Then, she heard it. It was faint at first, but it was growing louder.

Marshal bumped into her shoulder in his haste to reach her. “Hive!” he hissed. His light cut through the veil of black, showing the sickly green-brown of the walls.

Tae’s pulse sped up at the sight. “A hive nest,” she corrected. “What the hell is it doing here?”

“They’re hive,” Marshal stated flatly. “They’ve infested almost everything in the Sol system.”

“Well, I think we’ve done enough reconnaissance for the moment. Time to go!” Tae turned expectantly towards her Ghost. “Well?” she prompted after a moment of non-transmat. The hive screams were getting too close. “Marshal— !”

“I’m trying!” He made a soft grunting sound as if he were straining. “Oh, no…”

“What?”

“It must be hive magic—It’s suppressing my light! I can’t get us out!” Marshal made a nervous circle around Tae. “I’m detecting 40— no, 50 thrall advancing. Wait, there’s more than—”

“Stop counting them dammit!” Tae growled. She glanced back at the vertical shaft that had dropped her into this hell. “Any other ideas on how to get out of here? ’Cause I don’t think that way’s an option!”

“I’m trying to boost the signal for a distress call, but we’re too far underground.” Marshal suddenly froze in mid-air, his optic turned towards the thrall as they began to appear at the edges of his projected light. “Eyes up, Guardian! They’re here!”

Tae grabbed him and shoved him behind her. “Hide!” she hissed, “Now!”

He disappeared from her sight, but she could still hear his voice. “You asked for a plan, right? Well, running seems like a good idea right about now!”

Tae hesitated, capping a few of the hive swarm in quick succession. The corpses of their fallen comrades didn’t seem to slow the others down at all.

“Run!”

She tossed a swarm grenade at the running mob and whirled away as it detonated. The screams followed her as she sprinted as fast as she could deeper into the darkness. 

* * *

Tae didn’t know how far into the nest she had gotten lost when the horde caught up with her. She managed to find cover, but they had her pinned down. Several acolytes and a wizard sniped at her from just beyond her range of fire. And of course, she was running out of ammo.

“I could use some good news right about now, Marshal!” She flinched as shards of hive husk and rock splintered into her face. The sniper shots and bolts of hive magic continued to chip away at her rapidly shrinking barricade. She tossed another solar grenade as more thrall advanced from one of the upper level tunnels of the room. Several were caught in the blast, halting the swarm for a breath. “Marshal?!”

“I’m trying!” He materialized in front of her, healing her briefly before his shell began twisting and turning with strain. “I just— need a little more—There!”

Then she heard it. The sound of it could have moved her to tears.

_“—uardian! Do you—We’re on— Osiris sent back—”_

“I got it! Tae, we’ve got a signal!”

_“— Hold on! We’re almo—your location—”_

“We read you, Guardian!” Marshal turned back to her and she could almost swear he would be smirking if he could.

She pointed a finger at him to stave off his gloat. “Don’t say it.”

“I told you we would—” He cut himself off to zoom in front of her head.

A bolt shattered the left fin of Marshal’s shell. Tae screamed as he dropped to the ground, electricity arcing from the broken pieces. Her anger and panic collided just as she felt the light swell within her. Without thinking, she stood and set her gun ablaze. She stepped forward, fanning the hammer of the hand cannon and piercing through the shield of the wizard. The last shot sniped it directly through it’s right eye. The wizard screamed in agony as it fell. Tae panted and stared into the miasma pouring from the fallen hive wizard. Shock froze her for a moment until an acolyte landed a shot in her right arm. She fell backward from the force of the blow as several thrall rounded her cover.

“Shit,” she gasped, crawling backwards in search of her weapon. Her hand brushed over her Ghost. On instinct, she pulled Marshal protectively into her arms.

A thrall leapt, pinning her beneath it. Her free hand scrabbled for her gun, but it was beyond reach. The thrall raised its arms and swung down, the sharp claws poised to pierce her armor.

Then a shot rang out and the head of the thrall on top of her burst. Tae blinked in confusion as the disgusting green ichor dripped down the visor of her helmet.

“ _I believe that is your cue to move, Guardian,”_ a voice crackled into her ears.

“ _On her left_!” came another.

“ _I see it_.”

An acolyte dropped boneless to the ground. Tae scrambled to her feet as another thrall landed where she was moments before. She threw a swarm grenade ahead of her, the tiny seeking sunbursts clearing a narrow path. She scooped up Marshal and bolted forward. She barely acknowledged the hive exploding to either side of her as sniper shots picked them off one by one to cover her escape.

The knight seemed to appear from nothing, rising before Tae to tower over her at twice her height. She yelled and jumped back as its sword cracked the earth in front of her. She felt thrall claws scratching at her cloak, ripping the fabric. She cursed as she dodged out of the way. Bringing her weapon to bear, she fired several times in the direction of the knight that blocked the exit. Some of the thrall and the remaining acolyte went down, but her efforts didn’t seem to faze the knight. It swung its weapon again, hitting the remaining thrall in its sweeping arc before colliding with Tae’s torso. She felt the breath shoot painfully out of her body as she was hurled into the wall. She collapsed face-first into the nest at her feet, her left hand still gripping Marshal.

She coughed, the bruises on her ribs and back making each breath painful, but she was grateful nonetheless. The blade had struck her with the blunt edge. From her hazy, crumpled position, she heard one more shot ring out and the cries of the knight as it fell. Then, there was silence.

“Guardian?” the slightly tinny, modulated voice sounded genuinely concerned.

“Tae?”

Hearing her name, she groaned and pushed herself up to her knees. “I’m still in one piece.” She hissed at the sharp pain that emanated from everywhere. “Mostly.”

The boots of the other lightbearer crunched the husks underfoot as he approached. His Ghost flitted from side to side anxiously. When he reached Tae’s side, he hesitated for a moment. “Can you stand?”

The Ghost nudged his partner. “You should help her up.”

Leather creaked as he bent and offered her a hand. “Osiris sent us. Got worried when you couldn’t be reached.”

Tae took his hand and winced in pain as he pulled her up. “Nice timing, Crow.”

The smallest smirk formed on his face. “I told you I was a better shot.”

“Not to interrupt,” came the small, distorted voice of Marshal, “But can we, perhaps, go somewhere I won’t get shot at again? I’m not feeling—” The voice cut off, the light of his core fading.

Tae looked down at her Ghost’s broken and battered shell. “Marshal?” She couldn’t help the sudden panic that gripped her. Her hold on him tightened until it hurt. “Marshal?!”

Glint dashed forward, scanning the Ghost in her hands. “It’s alright, Tae. He’s just deactivated temporarily.”

“What? How—?”

Glint finished his scan and drifted backwards over Crow’s shoulder. “An arc shot grazed the back of his core circuit. If we repair that, we can revive him.”

“Ghosts can…do that? Deactivate?”

Glint seemed to shrug. “If we really need repair, yes. We don’t _like_ to do it though.”

Tae tensed. “Is he badly hurt? Can you really fix him?” She stared down at her friend in her hands, her brain racing. “You can revive him, right?”

“Don’t worry,” Crow said gently, placing a hand on her shoulder. “We can patch him up as soon as we get out of here. I promise.”

Tae nodded. With careful, trembling hands, she opened her pouch and tucked Marshal securely inside. “Just hang in there, ok?”

“Speaking of getting out,” Glint chimed in, “Perhaps we should leave this nest before more show up?” Crow’s Ghost pulsed and Tae’s pain lessened.

“I’m all for that,” Tae said, trying to keep the tremble from her voice, “but I seem to have lost my weapon somewhere.”

Crow found the Ace of Spades several feet away under some hive husks. Tae watched him as he bent to pick it up. For a moment, pain and guilt warred within her. The pain at the sight of him holding the weapon again was eclipsed by her guilt for her part in ending his former life. Thankfully, Crow knew nothing of her struggle. He didn’t need to share that burden. After all, he wasn’t that Sov prince anymore, but a new lightbearer. He was her friend, who was still trying to find his place in this crazy universe.

Crow returned to her side and, with a trusting half-smile, offered the gun back to her grip first. “Are you ready to get out of here?”

Tae took hold of the gun, feeling the weight of it and its history seep back into her bones. It felt right. It helped ground her. She gestured toward the exit with her gun arm, smirking through her pain. “After you.”

* * *

Tae wandered the small room, soothed by the familiarity. There had been a few changes. The table and bed had switched places and different colored notes lay scattered across the workbench amidst components and modules. Still, the beautiful blue bowl Glint had gifted Crow for his first Dawning and the carefully folded silk sheet remained tucked into a corner of the room. ‘Crow’s nest’ was the running joke name, though Marshal had never seen the humor in it.

Tae peered over Crow’s shoulder as he worked at removing the broken shell from Marshal’s core to examine him. “How bad is it?” she whispered.

“Nothing too dire,” he responded. “I can see where the bolt nicked the housing of his central core and fused it.” Crow gently turned the Ghost over, finally freeing him entirely from the damaged cover. “Don’t worry, my friend,” he murmured at the Ghost in his hand, “I’ll fix that in just a moment.”

Crow sorted through his chest of tools and components, seemingly oblivious to Tae’s presence as he worked in earnest. It gave Tae a moment to observe him in silence. Something was whispering at the back of her mind as she watched him. Some terrifying realization she wasn’t ready to face yet. “How did you learn how to do this?” she asked to distract herself.

“Do what?”

“Fix Ghosts,” she replied.

Glint floated closer to Crow, appearing almost ashamed. “It’s because of me,” he said.

“You did nothing wrong,” Crow corrected affectionately. Quieter and more angrily, he added, “It was because of Spider.” Sparks jumped from the workbench. He continued, “I was trying to figure out how to remove the… modifications…that Spider made to Glint. I learned a lot about Ghost… _anatomy_ … in the process. It didn’t help me at the time, but it comes in handy now.”

“That’s…incredible,” Tae remarked.

Crow turned his head to look at her, his expression diffident. “You think so?”

She shrugged. “I mean, _I_ don’t know how to do that. I didn’t know it was possible. But you make it look so easy.”

“I’m sure there are other Guardians that know,” he added quickly. “I thought Osiris repaired Sagira—”

“That may be true,” Tae conceded, “But you taught yourself, right? Honestly, I don’t know any other Guardians who could do that.”

“Not yet,” he amended. “But even you have to admit there are a lot of Guardians you don’t know.”

Tae sighed dramatically. “Fine, don’t take the compliment,” she grumbled. He chuckled at that, and the sound brought a small grin to her face. “I still think it’s impressive,” she insisted.

Crow smiled faintly at the praise. “Thank you.” After another brief moment of tinkering and another shower of sparks, he announced, “All finished.”

“Oh! Let me!” Glint floated to the workbench. He pulsed out light once, then twice, before finally backing away over Crow’s shoulder.

Tae held her breath, her heart beating in her ears.

Then Marshal floated up from the workbench, shell-less. When he noticed everyone staring at him, he suddenly said, “I feel naked right now.”

Tae laughed as she reached for her Ghost. “You’re ok!” She hugged her partner to her, much to his chagrin. “Don’t ever do that again,” she whispered into his metal.

He pulsed light once before wriggling his way out of her grasp to dive beneath the table. Still smiling in relief as much as at Marshal’s antics, she turned back to Crow. “Thank you.”

He nodded, a sincere grin on his face. “Anytime, my friend.”

“If it’s not too much trouble,” Marshal whined from beneath the table, “could you please find me a shell?”

“Oh! I have some!” Glint put in cheerily. Crow’s Ghost floated over to a lock box and opened it. Inside were a dozen different shells in varying conditions. “I like to have options,” he explained at Tae’s questioning glance.

She joined him at the lock box, crouching down to examine them. “Do you have a preference, Marshal, or should I choose?” When her Ghost didn’t respond, she smiled wickedly. “We’ll borrow this one.”

* * *

“I hate you sometimes,” Marshal grumbled.

Tae was struggling to hide her grin. Her Ghost floated sullenly behind her shoulder to avoid being seen.

“Oh, come on! It’s not that bad. You look— ” She turned back to Marshal and couldn’t stifle her sudden laughter.

“You’re enjoying the loss of my dignity too much,” Marshal replied. It was hard to take him seriously when his voice was coming out of what appeared to be a giant floating ladybug. “At least you are genuinely smiling again.”

“What do you mean?” she asked, wiping a tear from her face.

“I noticed,” he answered. “I notice everything.” He floated a little closer to Tae as she turned and began to walk down the tower walkway.

“I don’t know— ”

“You like him, don’t you?”

Tae stopped in her tracks. “What?!”

“Crow.” At her silence, Marshal added, “You should be careful. If he finds out the truth, you could both be hurt.”

Tae scoffed. “What are you—? I don’t— _like_ him. Not like _that!_ He’s my friend. And I—”

“You helped hunt him down and kill him,” Marshal finished softly. “That’s what’s bothering you, isn’t it?”

Tae felt the guilt swirl again. “I don’t need to be reminded,” she hissed. “And however I feel – which, for the record, isn’t what you’re thinking – it doesn’t matter.”

“Oh?” Marshal floated around to face her. “Why’s that?”

Tae sighed in exasperation and continued walking. “He doesn’t have to carry any of that baggage anymore. He’s trying to find who he is _now_. Trying to find his place. He’s earnestly searching for it, and I…” She paused before looking at Marshal. “I admire that about him. That’s all.”

“Tae…”

She rubbed the back of her neck, suddenly chuckling in self-deprecation. “Don’t mind me. I’ll figure this out myself.” Her smile faded. “He’s my friend. I hope he always will be.” She shrugged. “And if not… If he learns what I did…” She hesitated, biting her lower lip. “I just… want to hold onto our friendship as long as I can.”

Marshal stared at her, deep in thought for a moment. “I worry about you.”

Tae patted his shell affectionately. “I know. Thanks.” She shook herself out of the moment. “Well,” she said at last, sounding much more chipper, “Time to get you a new shell.”

“What?”

“I promised you a shell, didn’t I? Besides, we have to return that borrowed one to Glint.”

It took a moment for her words to register, but when they did, her Ghost dashed forward into a storefront without another word. Tae laughed to herself as she followed close behind, happy to still have him with her. As she entered the store, she spotted Marshal hovering in front of a locked cabinet.

“That didn’t take long,” she muttered in surprise.

“This one!” Marshal declared triumphantly, indicating the delicately crafted shell that was the third one on the right side.

Tae moved to look at the price and felt the blood draining from her face. “That’s… a really nice one, huh?”

Marshal was chattering about the craftsmanship and durability, but Tae didn’t hear him. She was busy calculating how much glimmer she had remaining. After a moment, she cleared her throat and Marshal turned back expectantly.

“So… How do you feel about taking another job?”


End file.
